Friday, January 19, 2007

Several Months ago I purchased a Samsung 20" SyncMaster 204B monitor for one of my workstations. I looked at several monitors with roughly the same specifications so the final decision was based mainly on price – including rebate. OK, I know $50 is not a ton of money but it was roughly 20-30% of the monitor cost. So I went with the rebate option. I followed the instructions perfectly and sent everything in as requested but as of yet, no check. Calling the rebate "support" center netted the response of "you did not include the UPC code" yet I know for a fact that I did. Hmm, I wonder how many of those UPC Codes are "lost" each year. Sounds like a total scam to me. I’ve sent another copy of the “required information” so we will see where this leads.

I understand the mentality of the rebate for retailers / product companies - Most people won't spend the time to send in the information or bother with instructions so it's a larger net for the company. Of course these companies make you jump through hoops to send in a rebate but outright fraud is a bit ridiculous. How many billions of rebates are refused? Anyone know? Why can't this be done honestly?

The next time I see a Samsung product, I'll make sure to evaluate another product instead, if the Samsung product is better, I may purchase it but will disregard the rebate.